History glossary
direct action
protest that directly challenges a practice rather than only asking officials to change it.
- Category
- Civil rights
- Region
- United States
- Date range
- 1954–1968
What it means
Sit-ins, boycotts and marches directly confronted segregation and exclusion. They could disrupt business or expose unjust rules while legal campaigns pursued change through courts.
Stories using this term
The Russian Revolution
From the 1905 crisis to the creation of the USSR, the Russian Revolution transformed imperial collapse into a new one-party socialist state.
The Civil Rights Movement
From school desegregation to Montgomery, Selma and Memphis, organised communities challenged racial exclusion and transformed American democracy.
